


trust love

by thebaldunicorn



Category: RWBY
Genre: Comfort the boy please, Gen, No shipping the farm boi here, Oscar gets another older sibling figure, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 episode 10 spoilers, as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:16:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29926410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebaldunicorn/pseuds/thebaldunicorn
Summary: The aftermath of the ultimatum.Post 8x10. Oscar-centric.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	trust love

_I should be past this,_ Oscar thinks numbly as he listens to Ironwood's message.

The man tried to murder him in cold blood. He shot him off a cliff. He should be beyond this level of shock and betrayal at the depths of cruelty which James will sink to.

He shouldn't be this surprised. Yet he is.

Oscar had told Ironwood that the general was as dangerous as Salem, and he's proving Oscar right.

It's insane.

It's just - that's the only word Oscar has for it. Insane. There is no logic that he can detect hidden in this ultimatum, no matter how he looks. There is no longer a genuine if misguided attempt to protect the few Ironwood deemed worthy.

It's pure madness. 

_James has lost his mind and his soul_ , Ozpin murmurs from the back of their head.

Oscar can't help but agree. He slumps his way to the bottom steps of the Schnee Manor foyer and sits as a shocked silence spreads throughout the room.

It's just - his legs are about to give out. He needs a moment. Just a moment.

It's a lot to take in when he was already this exhausted.

He takes that moment as explosions of shouting strike up around the room. Cursing, yelling, angry insults - the noise of rightful fury drowns out almost everything else. There's no point trying to contribute anything in this mess. At least, not until he gets his breath back a little.

_Maybe you should go lie down_. Oz suggests. The tone of worry is familiar enough at this point to pick out between his words.

_Now's not really the best time_ , he responds in their mind. He pinches the bridge of his nose though, fighting back a headache he knows they can both feel.

How is it that his body aches _more_ now that it isn't moving? He was running not that long ago, it did not hurt this bad.

How is he going to pull himself together for a little longer while they figure out this whole Ironwood bomb situation?

The yelling does not stop. Neither does his headache. Neither does his mounting weariness.

He startles when he feels someone settle down beside him on the steps.

Oh, he thinks.

Emerald.

She's sitting lightly, hands fidgeting in her lap. One wrong move might spook her.

"Hey." She says nonchalantly. Like she wasn't their enemy yesterday; like she wasn't a part of the group that was responsible for torturing him today.

But Hazel is dead. Cinder left. Salem is a pile of ashes knitting themselves together somewhere.

And Emerald is alone and clearly scared and here - right here, next to him, by her own choice - so Oscar tries to smile at her.

"Hey."

"So. General Ironwood huh." She continues. "What a complete wack job."

It's possible she does not know how to make smalltalk. Oscar doesn't think he's the best person to fix that, considering how awkward he is.

"He tried to kill me you know." He says, as if to demonstrate that. He can feel Oz mentally shaking his head at them both. "Shot me yesterday. Fell out of Atlas and all the way down to Mantle with not a speck of aura left in me."

Emerald has a contemplative expression on her face.

"Huh. So he's been working his way up to this, I guess."

That's one way to look at it.

"...I guess."

_I should have seen it coming_ , Ozpin says next, which is easily one of the dumbest things he's ever said.

_How could you have possibly seen this coming_? Oscar wants to know. _He was your friend. And for the most part, he was pretty normal. Pretty logical. I did manage to reason with him a couple of times, you know. None of that screams dictator and genocidal maniac to me._

Oz says, _I suppose_.

There's still guilt festering away there, though. Oscar can tell. He gets it a little - how would he feel, if ten years from now Jaune were saying these things, making these choices? Would he blame himself for not being a better friend? The fact that he can't picture Jaune going that wrong brings him no comfort, because Ozpin couldn't see James doing all of this, and Oscar isn't sure that anyone could. Perhaps this is simply the kind of thing no one ever sees coming from those they care about.

"How'd you survive?" Emerald asks, distracting him.

"Hmm?"

"How'd you survive the fall without an aura?"

"Oh."

It feels strange that she wants to know. There's nothing to be gained in it for her. It's clear she knows that too - she's just making conversation.

"I unlocked some of our magic." He tells her. "Like the magic I used to destroy the whale."

A particularly emotional shout from the group nearby has her flinching and reaching for her weapons. Which she still has.

Oscar doesn't fear her. He should, especially since she remains armed, but he doesn't. He doesn't know that he feels comfortable with her. He knows it's awkward. 

Yet, there is no fear between them.

There's a simple yet incredible feeling to continuously reaching out your hand and having someone finally - finally - take it.

There's trust there.

Oscar trusts her.

Beyond that, he thinks....he thinks she trusts him too. It's why she hasn't run yet. It's why she's sitting next to him instead of leaving and going anywhere else.

Emerald trusts him.

"Thank you for helping us." He tells her.

Her eyes swing back to his, away from the chaos. They're wide.

She frowns as he continues,

"Thanks for helping me. I - I...you didn't have to do it. But you did."

Her hands clench by her sides. She looks away, a bitterness he can't understand crossing her face.

"Yeah. And look how far that got me."

"You're not trapped with Salem anymore." Oscar points out. "You're not helping her end the world anymore. Doesn't that count for anything?"

She curls even further inwards, head down.

"I don't know. All I know is that the one person who really cared about me - the one person I could rely on to look out for me, instead of the other way around - he's dead. Cinder probably hasn't even realized I'm gone. Mercury only looks out for himself. Hazel was the only one who really - and now he's -"

She falters, trailing off.

Angrily, she swipes a tear away from her eye, blinking rapidly to rid herself of more.

Oscar wants to help her.

He - he's sorry that Hazel is dead. Death hurts, no matter who it is.

Worse than that is how relieved he is that he never has to see the man again.

It's complicated. He feels guilty for being a little glad he will never run into Hazel again, and he feels guiltier when he sees how grieved Emerald is for it. it's a whole mess that he's not going to deal with right now.

But there's little complication with his feelings towards Emerald in this moment.

He trusts her.

So he's going to try and help her.

"I'm sorry." He says softly. "I'm so sorry about Hazel."

It's his turn to flinch when she breaks out into unexpected laughter. 

The laughter is not happy. 

"He - he tortured you. I saw what he was doing. And you still...you just _trusted_ him with the password. You trusted him to help you escape." Oh. That's bewilderment. "And now you're sorry. Just - how? How?!"

"If you want someone to trust you, sometimes you have to take the first step." Oscar replies, slowly.

"But how - how can you _do_ that? You've been betrayed before. By the general, you said. But you still chose to trust Hazel and me. I know how hard it is to trust. I...when I was younger, I chose to trust Cinder." She glances up at him and the understanding of the wrong she's done swims in her eyes. "I chose to trust Salem. They seemed to care when no one else would. And now - now I know the truth. They were probably the most terrible people in the world I could have chosen to trust. I have no one left who cares about me. And the worst part is -"

She scoffs, gaze returning to the ground.

"The worst part is...I think I deserve it."

Carefully, hand already trembling from pain and exhaustion, he stretches it out to hover above her shoulder. He waits for her to flinch away, to glare at him, to make a joke and run. He's even prepared for her to shove him.

She doesn't. She sees him and she doesn't move. She sees him and the look in her eyes breaks his heart.

He places a hand on her shoulder as comfortingly as he can.

"Emerald, I-I'm not qualified to decide what you do or don't deserve. I....I'm sure it isn't much, but I want you to know that I trust you. I care about you. I really want to see everyone, you included, make it through all this."

"Kid. You're such an idiot." Her voice is choked up. She keeps on not shoving him away. 

Oscar keeps on choosing to trust. He thinks that neither of them will regret this, in the long run.

".....thanks." She adds on in a low voice.

He pats her again on the shoulder, perhaps a tad awkwardly, and ignores the hint of amusement he feels come from Ozpin (he's radiating feelings of 'the two with the worst personal social skills are making terribly awkward friends, how cute') as he settles in to wait.

"Anytime, Emerald." Oscar might be awkward, but he's trying. He's trying and he's glad Emerald is here trying too.

It's proof that people can change when given a second chance.

It's proof that people can be united even despite all the fear and doubt Salem tries to instill in humanity.

It's proof that there's still a bit of hope left in the world.

....

He doesn't recall when his eyes began to slip closed. He doesn't remember slumping over.

He does remember hands catching him, keeping him from hitting the floor. Those are hands he doesn't recognize. They scoop him up and help him up the stairs and into a bed.

The world lists sideways, blurry and nonsensical in his sleep-deprived state.

He catches glimpses of worried faces and stairs and green hair, and Nora, and then suddenly he's jolting awake.

She looks - scarred. New pink lines run up her arms and neck.

More than that, she looks _weak_.

Oscar has never thought that about her before and it scares him.

Consciousness has never felt more like adrenaline in his veins, like his heart pumping too loudly in his chest, like pure panic choking his throat.

Other things filter in distantly - he's lying in a bed, cover pulled up snugly to his neck and his blackened green coat laying on a chair nearby. Mostly, his brain catches onto Nora and can't let go.

He can't let go.

She looks - she looks bad.

Conscious but....

Bad. Really bad.

_She'll be alright, Oscar_. Ozpin reassures him. There's no way to know if that's true.

"N-Nora.." He's laying in the bed to her left, he realizes finally. On the bed to her right lays an unmoving Penny.

He supposes this must be the unofficial infirmity of Schnee manor.

"Are you - okay?" He has to ask, struggling to sit up. Pain shoots up his chest and he loses his breath at the shock of it.

Right. Right. That's exactly where Salem blasted him, the part that hurts the most.

He slumps down, his head awkwardly hitting the backboard as he places a hand over his chest and tries to breathe.

It figures that finally resting would aggitate it again. 

"I think I should be asking you that." Nora says slowly, her hands twitching by her sides. Even her voice sounds wrong. So small. So quiet.

Nora is many things, but rarely ever quiet.

After a moment, he sits up more gingerly, turning so he can better see her.

"I'm....I'll get there. Just had a little run in with Salem. But what happened with you guys? Did the broadcast go out?"

It's probably the worst time for Ren and Jaune to walk into the room. Oscar thinks he must've lost quite a bit of time, because neither look terribly panicked like Ironwood's about to detonate the bomb, and Nora doesn't look surprised to see them.

She looks almost angry.

"You ran into Salem?!" There's the loud Nora he knows. "Jaune, you didn't mention that!"

"Well we were a little preoccupied coming up with a plan so Ironwood doesn't blow up Mantle!" Jaune shoots back. He looks as tired as Oscar feels. "I would've said something later, about Oscar getting kidnapped and stuff."

Now Nora looks horrified _and_ furious.

"You got kidnapped?" She turns to the other two. "You _let_ him get kidnapped?!"

Oscar supposes she's not technically wrong, although he thinks that's not really fair. None of them saw that thing - the hound - coming. None of them knew something like that existed.

Not even Ozpin.

"They did come to rescue me." Oscar says, trying to be helpful.

"I sure hope they did!"

"I-it's okay, Nora. Really, I only got tortured a little and I'm fine now, really -"

Uh oh. For a second he wonders if he's killed her. She isn't moving. Then she turns to stare at Ren and Jaune, and Oscar does not appreciate the look she's conveying.

Like _Oscar_ is somehow the unreasonable one in this situation.

She picks up a pillow and screams, muffled, into it.

_Most people would be upset about this_ , Oz points out. _I don't think minimizing your trauma is the best long term solution here_.

_But it's working great in the short term_ , Oscar responds, only partly joking.

He...doesn't want to make a big deal out of it. Because it isn't a big deal. Not really. It wasn't even for that long, and it wasn't even that bad. What point is there in sitting around talking about it? Wouldn't it just be needlessly complaining to people who've already had a really rough day? Oz took a lot of the pain anyway, and he was there to comfort Oscar the whole time. That should count for something. That should mean they don't need to talk this one out.

Big deal or not - Oscar doesn't want to talk about it.

He would rather focus on the bigger issues going on right now. Is that not fair and rational?

"Wait." Oscar says with a frown. "Jaune, did you say you had a plan?"

Jaune has his hands up; Nora is back to glaring at them both. She doesn't mind, though, when Ren walks over to hold her hand.

Jaune blinks, says,

"What? Oh, yeah. Actually, Emerald had a plan."

Huh. That's - huh. 

There's a way he could see that going and he's sort of amazed he didn't think of it first.

Oscar glances from the still sleeping Penny back to Jaune.

"She....she's going to pretend to be Penny?" He guesses.

"Ruby is, actually. Ruby knows her best, she can act the part and get close to Ironwood. Then the others will incapacitate him so he can't destroy the city. It's - it's risky, definitely, but we don't have a lot of options."

_That was good of her_ , Ozpin says.

"Yeah. I didn't expect that from her." He mutters.

A warm feeling spreads behind the burnt skin of his chest. He doesn't know if pride is the right word, but it's something close. He's glad she made that decision freely.

He's really glad.

"Um...Ren and I decided to stay behind and protect the manor. Plus, there's only so much Emerald's semblance can do. She said there was no way she could hide all of us. So now we wait and hope." 

"And rest." Ren speaks up. He gazes meaningfully at Oscar, who may or may not blush at being called out, even in a subtle way.

_You need it. Our aura is still dangerously low. Your team is taking care of things right now. You should rest while you can._

Oscar sighs, shaking his head. He can't escape mothering even inside his own mind.

It is a little nice, he allows. To know everyone cares so much.

Mainly annoying. But underneath that, very nice.

"Oscar? Are you - are you talking to Oz?" Jaune asks slowly. He doesn't look happy to have asked it.

Nora's eyes widen.

"Wait, Ozpin is back? What else did I miss?"

"Yeah. He's back and I - I was talking to him." Oscar pauses, biting his lip. "Did - did _you_ want to talk to him?"

_Oscar, I_ \- Oz cuts off. He knows he needs to own up to his mistakes. He knows they deserve an apology and finally, now isn't a fantastically awful time to give them one.

There's nothing more he can argue and he doesn't even try to.

"I...I don't know." Jaune says finally. "Ren? Nora?"

"Tell him I'm still mad." Nora says immediately. Then shrugs. "And that I'm glad you both made it here. That's - that's good enough for now."

Surprisingly, Ren clears his throat and says,

"Yes. I want to talk to him."

"Okay." Oscar did offer after all. "Just - be careful, please. We've both had a really, really long day."

Does he imagine the small wince from Jaune? It doesn't matter. Ren gives him a solemn nod, and Oscar closes his eyes.

_Go apologize like an adult_ , he tells Oz. He isn't angry with the man anymore, but he's not the only one Oz hurt with his lies.

_Alright. Why don't you rest in the meanwhile_? Oz asks gently.

Then Oscar is kicked out of control, floating weightlessly in the back of their mind. It has never felt so wonderful. So free. All of those bruises and aches and pains are gone.

All of that exhaustion rests on someone else's shoulders, leaving Oscar free to float and relax for the first time in a long time.

Distantly, he's aware of Ozpin using Oscar's own voice to greet his friends.

"Hello again stu -" Ozpin catches himself. "Hello huntsmen and huntress."

That's right. He was sleeping when they got their licences. Oscar only heard about it second hand anyway; Jaune was sweet enough to bring him a slice of cake from their celebrations.

"I'm glad you're all still here. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lied and I'm sorry I left. I can't tell you how wrong it was of me not to trust you, to give into fear and paranoia instead."

"....I appreciate you helping Oscar, Professor Ozpin." That's Jaune's voice. It's difficult to read when it's that low and subdued. "I trust him. So if he says we can trust you, I will. Honestly I think we need all the allies we can get at this point. But. I don't think I'm ready to forgive you just yet."

"I understand."

Ozpin is a well of infinite sadness that grows slightly larger at Jaune's words, and yet he does understand and he doesn't hold it against Jaune.

Oz had his reasons for keeping the truth from them; and they deserved to know the full truth of the war before they signed on to fight and die for it.

Two sides finally reconciling, ever so slightly.

"I need to know. Would you have done things differently?" Ren asks next, sounding urgent. Concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"All of it. The relics, Ironwood, the maiden, Salem - all of it. Would you have done it like we did it? Would you have done it different?"

Even as disconnected as he is, Oscar can still feel Ozpin's emotions. He can feel the man pause and truly contemplate the answer.

"I'm not sure. I think perhaps, I would not have chosen to trust certain people. I don't believe anything I would have done would've greatly altered this outcome."

"Oh."

"Taking into consideration what I know about Salem and what I now know to be true of James, I believe it was only a matter of time before an event such as this happened. They are both..." Ozpin trails off for a moment. "They are both too stubborn to ever be talked down."

After that, they chat some more probably - most likely - but Oscar checks out. He might be dozing, he might be out cold. It's difficult to tell when he's not in control of his body and he can't check by trying to open his eyes or move or anything.

He's resting deeply, no longer paying strict attention to what's happening outside his own mind.

It's wonderful. It's safe and quiet and calm.

It becomes clear, however, that he's not fully out when he hears snippets of voices reach him.

"....thank you. I appreciate that...."

"-resting, I believe. Would you like me to rouse him for you?"

Is Oz talking about Oscar?

_What's wrong?_ He tries to send to Oz. It comes out a confused mutter, even in his mental voice. Man he's exhausted.

_Nothing, nothing_ , Oz rushes to reassure him. _They wanted to check in and see how you were doing, Oscar._

_Fine. M'fine_. 

"...he's waking up now. Here -"

Oscar isn't ready for the switch. His body slumps as he regains control of it and he jerks at the sensation of falling, fear clouding his brain as he catches himself and leans back again the headboard to support himself with. 

"What's happening?" He attempts to ask, stifling a yawn. "Is your talk over, yet?"

His eyes are drooping, slipping closed, but he forces himself to cling to consciousness.

"We're fine, Oscar." 

Oh. Oscar's glowing. He glances up to see Jaune gently resting a hand on his ankle. Even through the covers, the touch is light and comforting, and he can feel it heal him little by little.

"Why don't you rest?" Jaune suggests. "We'll wake you up if anything happens, okay?"

Oscar's eyes are already closing again. 

"M'kay... Just for a second..."

Someone pulls the covers back up over him and squeezes his shoulder affectionately before letting go.

With the warmth of Jaune's semblance soothing his wounds and the low sound of his friends talking nearby, Oscar feels safe enough to sleep.

He still fights it for another minute, worried he might miss something happening with Salem or Ironwood.

_They said they'd wake you when something_ _happened_ , Ozpin reminds him. _For now, you need to rest, Oscar. They'll look out for you while you do. You are a part of their team, aren't you?_

Oscar can't hold back a smile even in his exhausted state.

He _is_ a part of the team. They stormed a whale for him. They trusted Emerald and Oz because he said they could.

That's - that's all he wanted. To be included. To be one of them.

If he falls asleep with a strange, teary smile on his face, no one mentions it when he wakes.

He's safe and cared for and _here_ , with his friends, and for now that's enough.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: can you believe no one hugged my boy this episode??!? After everything he's been through?!?
> 
> I guess I didn't write him a hug either, but he gets a nap. Quick nap before Salem reforms. He earned it.
> 
> Please pretend that Ren properly apologized to Jaune and Nora while Oscar was asleep. Be nice to your teammates Ren. They love you.
> 
> Also Emerald's redemption is complicated, okay? She's killed probably quite a few people for Cinder and Salem. She worked to bring about chaos, mass panic, and death across Remnant and she knew that. She wasn't stupid.
> 
> What she was, was vunerable. And that's when Salem tends to step in. So I think she shouldn't be all the way forgiven, but if she's really against Salem, great. Team Anti-Salem needs all the help it can get.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
